Universal to make movies based on Monopoly, other board games

In Part 2,356,074 of our ongoing examination of the Grand Canyon-sized dearth of inspiration plaguing Hollywood studios--who, you'll remember, have already rummaged through their toy chests for films based on Transformers, Voltron, and G.I. Joe--today comes news that a six-year deal between Hasbro and Universal Pictures will result in at least four movies based on popular board games like Monopoly, Battleship, Candy Land, and Ouija, with the first hitting theaters as early as 2010. So far there are no details on how exactly the studio plans to write a story that truly captures the drama of pushing a little metal shoe around and collecting $10 in a beauty contest (although we wouldn't be surprised if Robin Williams is somehow involved). Still, one can't help but wonder if all this is just a result of irked producers welcoming back striking screenwriters by tossing a weathered Connect Four on their desk and saying, "Make something out of that, smart guy."